An FPC includes a great number of terminals in parallel. The FPC having such a structure is detachably connected to a printed board using a connector including a great number of contacts provided in parallel. Conventional connectors are known as disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, etc., in which the contact members and the terminals of the FPC are pressed in contact with each other through an operating member so as to connect the great number of terminals with the contact members all at the same time, thereby the FPC is held in a sure manner.
A connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a housing having a structure in which an FPC insertion opening is formed on one face thereof for the insertion of an FPC, and a cover insertion opening is formed on the other face thereof for the insertion of a cover. On the other hand, each contact member includes a pressing piece provided so as to face the cover insertion opening, which is elastically deformable by insertion of the cover, and a pressure-contact piece provided so as to face the FPC insertion opening, which contacts to the FPC corresponding to the elastically deformation of the pressing piece during the insertion of the cover.
With such an arrangement, upon inserting the cover into the cover insertion opening formed on the other face of the housing after the insertion of the FPC into the FPC insertion opening formed on one face of the housing, the pressing piece of each contact member is elastically deformed. This action presses the pressure-contact piece of the contact member into contact with the FPC. Thus, the FPC is pressed into contact with, and is connected with, the contact members.
On the other hand, a connector disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes: an insulating housing; and a cover provided at the upper portion of the rear end of the insulating housing, the cover can turn in the back and forth direction of the insulating housing. The insulating housing has a structure in which an insertion opening is provided at the front end thereof for the insertion of a flat flexible cable. Furthermore, multiple electroconductive terminals (contact members) are provided in parallel within the housing such that contact beams thereof face the insertion opening. Each of the electroconductive terminals (contact members) has a base beam and a U-shaped contact beam connected with one another through a connection portion so as to form a single unit. An engaging arm is provided at the rear end of each base beam. Alongside, a lever arm is provided at the rear end of each contact beam. An engaging portion formed of the engaging arms of the multiple electroconductive terminals (contact members) provided in parallel and another engaging portion of the cover are engaged with one another in a manner which allows the cover to turn. Furthermore, the lever arm and the cover are provided such that the lever arm and the inner face of the cover face one another at the rear end of the cover. Such a structure allows the portion facing the U-shaped contact beam to be opened and closed by turning the cover using the lever arm.
With such a structure, upon turning the cover, the inner face of the cover moves the lever arm. Then, the movement of the lever opens or closes the contact beams of the electroconductive terminals (contact members). After the opening of the contact beams, the user can insert the connection terminal of a flat flexible cable into the insertion opening with zero insertion force. Upon closing the contact beams, between the contact beams and the flat flexible cable a certain contact pressure is produced due to the elasticity of the contact beams. With such an arrangement, the opening and closing of the contact beams are performed by actions of the lever arms. This enables the user to turn the cover without large insertion force.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 7-18386    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Registration Utility Model No. 3019279
However, the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem as follows. With the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, the pressing piece of each contact member is elastically deformed. This elastic deformation presses the pressure-contact piece of each contact member into contact with the FPC. This means that stress is applied to each contact member during connection of the FPC with the connector. This causes creep, for example, leading to deterioration in the durability of the connector. Furthermore, since the cover is inserted into the cover insertion opening from above the housing for elastically deforming the pressing portions, the upper wall of the housing has an increased thickness. This leads to an increase in thickness of the upper wall of the connector.
On the other hand, the connector disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a problem as follows. The cover is turned while engaging the engaging portion, which is formed of lever arms disposed in parallel on the rear side of the electroconductive terminals (contact members), with the engaging portion of the cover. With such a structure, stress is applied to the lever arms disposed at the rear side of the electroconductive terminals (contact members) every time the user opens or closes the cover. This causes deterioration in the durability of the connector. In addition, the cover is not engaged with the housing. In some cases, this leads to undesirable disengagement of the FPC from the connector. Furthermore, the contact member has a structure in which a lever arm and an engaging arm are formed on the rear side thereof. With such a structure, upon turning the cover with the engaging arm and the engaging portion of the cover being engaged with other, the cover presses down the lever arm. Such a contact member requires a three-layer structure in which three components are arranged one above another, leading to an increased mounting height of the connector.
In particular, the use of connectors in cellular phones, digital still cameras (DSC, DVC), etc., in recent years has required a small mounting height of around 1 mm, for example.
In view of the aforementioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector with a reduced mounting height, i.e., reduced-height connector having a function of maintaining the opening and closing states of a back lock lever serving as a cover in a sure manner while improving the durability of contact members.